What happens on a in service day at school

[Scottishdreams1991]

We come to the end of the summer hoildays ( thank fuck) next Wednesday but staff are back Monday and Tuesday.
What happens on they days? As a child i used to think teachers would just do nothing as i remember handing in forms with my mum and hearing music from my classroom 😂😂.

I think its a day of training/ administration/ setting up for the year etc. Non contact time. I'm not a teacher so someone else can reply more accurately.

I work in a school and we are due back in on a Friday before the Monday of the children coming back and we have a long days training 8:30-4. Safeguarding etc refresh’s updates you name it

Meetings, meetings, more meetings, and if you're lucky a bit of time to sort yourself out for the new term

We have to sit through mind numbing my boring (and repetitive) death by PowerPoints - in my school 9-4 for x2 days in September.
Then there is also a carousel type training on day 3 (the day new Year 7s and 12s start) - this year there is a mandatory safeguarding session 3-4pm.
There is virtually no time to yourself

Training- usually safeguarding etc
Bit of analysis of data from exam results
Departmental meetings/ time together to discuss the year ahead.
Often a bit about the new cohort and any kids to be aware of- those with more severe SEN or health issues.

Nothing. Just extra holiday for the teachers. 🙄

As an adult, what does your imagination think could be going on during teacher training days?

The training days are used for training in things like safeguarding, pedagogy and so on. There may also be time for setting up the classroom. Note that the training days were originally days taken away from teachers’ holidays - they are not term time days taken away from children (parents).

@PollyannaWhittier our school is open throughout summer so incase you want to pop in and get things sorted you can do that 😂! I need to go in to collect something I left and I haven’t done so yet.

Main thing will be update on Safeguarding, and changes in Keeping Children Safe in Education

In secondary we'll have presentations about the GCSE and A Levels results and priorities for this year. We'll have training on all sorts of things; always safeguarding, health and safety, classroom practice, behaviour management etc. We usually then break off into department time and go through plans for the year, the calendar etc. Then we usually will have some time to collect our exercise books and resources, set up the classroom.

Usually we sit in the hall from half 8 until half 2 and then get told we have a classroom inspection at 3.30 with a list of new non-negotiables.

Leaves 1 hour to re back all boards; print, trim, laminate and trim labels for pegs and trays; create welcoming display boards; plan lessons for the week ahead with your new team; fit in 1:1 meetings with your Sen pupils and family etc; arrange seating plans carefully considering sex/ability/SEN/behaviour/ handedness/ eye-sight; arrange all new stock (exercise books- must also be labelled, stationery etc.).

So quite a full on day.

In reality, teachers come in over the summer to get through most of the classroom setup as there is no time during INSETs. However, more often than not, our lovely hall time is spent being told all about the new way of doing things this year which means a lot of what we did during the summer now has to be redone.

Safeguarding training, fire safety and health and safety training refreshers. Manual handling.

Loads of database admin - transferring date relating to children who left in July to their new schools (can't be done before the holiday as some children end up changing choices over the holidays). Admitting the new children. Synching databases, creating registers. And dealing with last minute admissions.

Preparing the classrooms and playrooms. Flushing the water systems to prevent legionella, making sure there is hot water and no part of the building has sprung a leak over the summer.

And dealing with a million lost property enquiries from the term before.

Can you seriously not imagine what needs to be done?

Meetings- department/ year group/ registration group/full staff
Mandatory training
Carrying equipment to the right rooms
Counting out books/booklets
Photocopying
Wall displays
Writing 35 names onto numerous pieces of stationary or equipment

Etc etc etc

Children don't walk in to a ready classroom with everything magically ready for them. In a high school we could be teaching 6 different classes from 6 different year groups on the first day back.

Sooo many meetings. Not enough planning and prep time. Yes, yes, we can (and do) plan in the holiday, but so often that planning is no longer relevant after all those meetings.